Yunnan silver needle
Bud-only white tea from Yunnan’s large-leaf assamica stock rather than Fujian’s small-leaf Da Bai. The larger bud gives a much fuller, more honeyed cup than Fujian Silver Needle, and it ages toward pu-erh-like character rather than Fujian’s dried fruit.
Character
Considerably fuller and sweeter than Fujian Silver Needle, which is the large-leaf cultivar rather than better processing.
- Flavour
- Sweet, Fruity, Floral
- Aroma
- Honeyed, Stone fruit
- Mouthfeel
- Medium, Silky, Rich
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Notes
- honey, dried apricot, wildflower
- Aftertaste
- Sweet, thick and long for a white tea.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Region
- Lincang
- Oxidation
- Minimally oxidised
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Sun-drying (shai qing)
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 85–95 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
4–6 g/100 ml · 90–100 °C · 5 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Moonlight White
Both Yunnan white teas from large-leaf stock, and both age toward camphor rather than toward Fujian’s dried fruit.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Oriental Beauty
Shares 7 descriptors with Yunnan silver needle: fruity, sweet, floral, silky, medium, honeyed and stone fruit.
- Anxi Huang Jin Gui
Shares 6 descriptors with Yunnan silver needle: floral, fruity, sweet, medium, silky and honeyed.
- Bai Mudan
Shares 6 descriptors with Yunnan silver needle: sweet, fruity, floral, medium, silky and honeyed.
- Bai Mudan Wang
Shares 6 descriptors with Yunnan silver needle: sweet, fruity, floral, medium, silky and honeyed.
- Darjeeling white tea
Shares 6 descriptors with Yunnan silver needle: floral, fruity, sweet, silky, honeyed and stone fruit.
- Li Shan
Shares 6 descriptors with Yunnan silver needle: floral, sweet, fruity, silky, rich and stone fruit.
- Lychee black tea
Shares 6 descriptors with Yunnan silver needle: fruity, sweet, floral, medium, stone fruit and honeyed.